Questions tagged [james-webb-space-telescope]

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an infrared space observatory that launched on Dec 25, 2021. It is the largest and most powerful space telescope to date.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful space telescope ever built. It will allow scientists to look at what our universe was like about 200 million years after the Big Bang. The telescope will be able to capture images of some of the first galaxies ever formed. It will also be able to observe objects in our solar system from Mars outward, look inside dust clouds to see where new stars and planets are forming and examine the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars.

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/james-webb-space-telescope/en/

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Will the James Webb Space Telescope be visible from earth?

Once the JWST is in orbit around L2, would it be possible to view it using any ground based telescopes? I’m mostly thinking of equipment available to amateurs, since I don’t have a 10m reflector. But would this be feasible for anything we have built…
user287095
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When is JWST's first light?

Is there an official estimate when the first light of the James Webb Space Telescope happens? I keep following the press releases from ESA and NASA, but I cannot recall that I saw any on that topic. References Timeline from Wikipedia Detailed…
B--rian
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What is the numerical aperture of the James Webb Telescope?

I was wondering what the NA of the James Webb telescope is: Based on this eq: R = λ / 2NA >> NA = λ / 2R Key Facts - James Webb Space Telescope - NASA λ = 0.6 - 28.5 microns = 0.6 - 28.5 x 10-6 m R = ~0.1 arc-seconds = 4.848 × 10-7 radian NA = 0.06…
rul30
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What was Webb's "key launch clearance review" about?

Yesterday, the ESA press announcement form July 1st, 2021 was widely spreaded in various science and nerd news channels: “We are thrilled to have passed this important step towards the launch of Webb and to have received the green light from…
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How clear will the images taken by the JWST be, compared to the rest of the telescopes?

How clear will the James Webb Space Telescope images be compared to other telescopes? I mean mainly for things like: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, or Quaoar Ceres, Juno, Vesta or Astraea exoplanet HIP 65426 b and other exoplanets Left above:…
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Is the James Webb Space Telescope ever going to run out of thruster power to point it to the right direction?

As far as I know the only mechanism that our spacecrafts have to maneuver in space is gas thrusters. Obviously pressurized gas is in a limited quantity on the JWST. What are the plans for when the time comes and there's no more thrust power to…
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What would James Webb Space Telescope be able to see if pointed at Earth?

I have seen comparisons of the picture quality between Hubble and Webb, and I have read that the size of the pictures Webb is taking is akin to holding a grain of sand at arms length against the sky. Still, I'm not able to comprehend how far these…
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How close to itself can the JWST see? Inside our own system, or must it look beyond like it is far sighted? Essentially, can JWST see Mars or others?

How close to us can we see with JWST, would we be able to look at our neighbor planets and/or their moons (when in the right place logically) or would things that close be out of focus? I tried looking it up, but it seems everyone is…
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Why not launch a few more copies of JWST?

The James Webb Satellite seems to be a highly successful project and it looks like humanity will get useful observations from it for many decades to come. But the question is... why not make 3 more copies of JWST and launch them into orbit so that…
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Will the James Webb Space Telescope be able to detect/resolve Russell's teapot?

Was wondering if JWST has the capability to detect and image Russell's teapot. It seems to me that may retain enough IR energy. ;-)
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How to fix James Webb space telescope?

(Please excuse my English) The James Webb space telescope(JWST) will be launched in 11 days. I've always wondered, how do we fix the JWST if it breaks? The JWST will be too far away. According to Wikipedia, it will be about 1.5 million km from…
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James Webb hot temperature

The warmest part of JWST is still hotter (41 $^\circ$C) than me. What I don't understand is where it became so hot (it's been well over 50 $^\circ$C for a long time), and why the hottest point doesn't cool faster. Is there a napkin friendly…
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If the James Webb Telescope finds galaxies beyond 14 billion light-years, will the astrophysicist establishment modify their theories?

It seems inevitable to me that the scope will indeed image them. If so, will the astonishingly inflexible astrophysicist establishment have the humility to admit they're wrong, and that the Big Bang theory is incorrect? Or will there be a flurry of…
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